Artemis
by Holly Marie Fowl
Summary: Alek has the strangest dream...because, why not? Fluff, Dalek, and a few other things.


**Salvete.** Yeah, so I don't even know where this came from….It's named for Artemis, Deryn's father's name. (I know I'm bad with titles. Any suggestions would be lovely.)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Leviathan.

**Artemis**

Aleksander Ferdinand was attending a funeral. The only problem was that he wasn't entirely too sure whose funeral it was or how he'd gotten there in the first place.

Just by looking at the type of day it was, he wouldn't have guessed that some poor fellow was being buried. The sun was shining, birds chirping, everything that shouldn't be happening during a funeral.

He was standing next to the minister. Across from him had to be the immediate family—a girl, a boy, and an older woman. The woman was standing a short distance from what must have been her children.

Alek walked around the grave, unnoticed, so he could look closer at the kids. The boy bore a mild resemblance to Dylan—sandy hair—but his features were more masculine and his eyes brown. The girl, though, looked exactly like his friend. She was leaning into her brother's arm only a little, struggling to stop tears from her blue eyes. She was failing miserably.

It was either the eyes or the way she looked like Dylan, but Alek wanted desperately to comfort her. He couldn't though. She was looking straight through him—as if he wasn't even there.

Alek wasn't too clear what had happened, but the funeral must have ended. The girl broke away from her brother's touch and began to run.

"Deryn!" he called.

Alek followed her through an open field and into a patch of trees. The branches caught on her dress, but she kept running until she reached a river bank. There, her legs gave out.

Deryn tore the band from her hair and began to sob, burying her face in her hands, clearly thinking she was alone. It made him feel horrid for intruding.

Alek knelt in front of her. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder…

…and was very surprised to find it completely solid. It is a weird feeling—touching someone and having them not notice or even see you. Deryn was doing just that.

At that moment, she rocked forward onto her knees and slammed into Alek's chest. He put his arms around her and stroked her hair, unsure whether he wanted her to know he was there or not.

On one hand, he wanted her to know she wasn't alone, and everything would be okay.

On the other, she might not appreciate a random stranger holding her.

Alek let his mind drift as he held her—until he realized he'd fallen asleep.

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"Alek? Alek?"

The blue eyes. The sandy hair.

"Deryn?" he mumbled before he could think.

Dylan sat back, mouth open, eyes wide. "Wh-How?"

Alek propped himself up. "Wait. What?" He was utterly confused.

"You just called me…" his voice trailed off, maybe an octave higher than usual. "But…where did you hear that name?"

"A dream. There was a girl—very pretty." He felt he was onto something but was unsure what exactly. "She looked exactly like you, Dylan…unless she was you."

Dylan was pale white and shaking.

"Was the sun shining on the day of your dad's funeral?" It was a shot in the dark, and it would make him look absolutely ridiculous if he was wrong. "And why didn't you tell me you have a brother?"

"W-Wait. You dreamt…"

"Yes. And then the creek."

"Barking spiders, Alek." He-she shuddered with the memory. "Hang on. Did you touch me?"

"Yes."

"I—I felt someone there, but I thought…I mean the stress. It was a reasonable explanation. What did you do?"

Alek reached out and pulled her forward into a hug. She leaned into it, and they sat like that until they fell over in sleep.

**End Notes:** Yes, it appears to be rather short and fluffy. Deryn isn't being weak here-everyone tryies to get away from people. Everyone breaks down once in a while (or a lot), especially when they think they're alone. Why should she be an exception? You saw how she was in Behemoth, and that was a long time after the accident. Well over a year, if I'm correct in my timing. She would have been a wreck just after the accident.

Review? Please?

Love and Skittles,

Holly Marie Fowl

P.S. I apologize for my lack of writing lately. I'm really busy. Blame my gov teacher.


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